1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor package and, more particularly, to a semiconductor package with a local voltage regulator to instantaneously provide a voltage-regulated current to power a chip within the semiconductor package.
2. Description of the Related Art
A semiconductor circuit module is an electrical component on which a chip, including a circuit or an integrated circuit is built. The circuit module can be mounted on a top surface of a specialized common carrier (SCC) that is encased within a semiconductor package for protection from the environment. The outer surface of the SCC can be electrically connected to a printed circuit board through conductive leads that extend through the bottom or sides of the SCC. The printed circuit board can connect the SCC to a power source, providing a current that can be distributed across the SCC to semiconductor chip interconnects. The integrated circuits on semiconductor chips are becoming increasingly faster. As the speed required for semiconductor chip performance increases, so does the need to provide enough power and current to the circuits within the semiconductor chip to accommodate the increasing speeds. For example, as the rate of high speed switching (HSS) circuits (e.g., complimentary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) structures, Bipolar-CMOS structures, and silicon germanium structures with switching rates in the range of 6.25 to 20 gigabytes per second or greater) increases, the power requirements for semiconductor chips containing such circuits may include higher voltage currents at lower potentials with low impedances. Many HSS circuits have only decoupling capacitors that provide an imperfect (e.g., inductive in most cases) AC path to ground for noise and ground signal return paths. These HSS circuits have very high instantaneous current demands that are required in order to maintain the integrity of the voltage wave shapes. Fluctuations in power may cause performance errors or damage the circuits. Thus, the requirement for lower source impedance and the ability to control parasitic circuit elements are the practical limiting factors for HSS circuit packaging development.